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Unlicensed investment companies in Qatar could face penal action at the end of their grace period by the end of April, said central bank's governor, Abdullah bin Khalid al-Attiyah.

Addressing a press conference on the occasion of the opening of Q-Money exhibition in Doha, al-Attiyah said the penal action might be in the form of imprisonment for six months of people thought to be responsible, and a fine of QR5000 ($1,470).

Meanwhile, the governor said that Qatar's gross national product (GNP) is expected to be to the tune of QR53b ($14.6b) - a 19 percent increase over the previous year.

Prices of commodities have remained stable and the price index is expected to register a fall by 1 percent after it had increased by 2.2 percent in 1999, he said – Albawaba.com